The Vista Dec. 7, 2010

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Campus Quotes

Pope Sounds Off

Remember Pearl Harbor

Hockey

How do you feel about wikileaks.org leaking information about the U.S.?

The pope and his stance on condoms.

Dec. 7 is the 69th anniversary of that “date that would live in infamy.”

Sooners and Bronchos had a fight this weekend, and a hockey game broke out.

DEC. 7, 2010 uco360.com twitter.com/uco360

THE VISTA

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA’S student voice since 1903.

Protests

WESTBORO PROTESTS METRO CHURCHES Members of the Baptist Church from Topeka, Kan., who are notorious for picketing soldiers’ funerals, protested three churches in Norman. The group claims that God hates homosexuals, Jews and Oklahomans.

PHOTO BY GARETT FISBECK

By Garett Fisbeck / Photo Editor A small group of fundamentalist Christians from the Westboro Baptist Church picketed three churches in the Norman, Okla., area Sunday, Dec. 5, to propagate their message of hate to churchgoers who they say are wrong about the common teachings of God’s universal love.

Several picketers drove more than 300 miles from the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., and protested Harvest Church, 6450 36th Ave., Trinity Baptist Church, 801 Peters Ave. and Journey Church, 101 Triad Village Dr. The churches were selected based on the number of members they serve, Benaiah Phelps, a 16-year-old WBC protester, said.

Harvest Church alone has an average attendance of 850 members a week, Chad Williams, administrative pastor of Harvest Church, said.

They spent about a half an hour at each location and were greeted by crowds of anywhere from 50-100 outspoken counter protesters.

Members of WBC chanted songs and sang along with recordings of religious parodies of artists such as Black Sabbath, Lady GaGa, Queen and others.

They also held up signs that

“Ideas are bulletproof, homophobes are not,” Justin Brooke, a counter protester, shouted to the group of demonstrators.

Most counter protesters were under the impression that WBC did not care about their own message, but rather the reaction that it brought about.

“I think their goal isn’t to get their message across, it’s to make people mad,” Barrett Scoggins, a Journey Church member, said.

“It could go two ways; we could come out and give them what they want [anger], or we can come out and sing like them.”

Some UCO students attended the protests to make their voices heard.

“The can protest whatever they want, but they will always be followed by people like us who speak the real truth,” Dillon Bittner, an English Education freshman, said.

Continued on page 4 Benaiah Phelps, a 16-year-old Wesboro Baptist Church member, protests a Trinity Baptist Church service on Sunday, Dec. 5. The Westboro Baptists picketed three churches in Norman.

said such things as, “Thank God for dead soldiers” and “God hates fags.”

Jonathan Phelps, a member of the WBC, said that there is no difference between the sins of sodomy

and the sins of divorce and remarriage, and that God hates the people that commit both acts.

Phelps said that 6,000 preachers, priests and rabbis lie by twisting words of the Bible to make money.

Only a few arguments between the protesters and the crowd erupted during the demonstrations, but the majority of confrontation consisted of short, shouted phrases from either group of protesters.

To view a related CNN story, use your smartphone to scan this tag:

Campus Safety

CORRECT RIGHT OF WAY P H OTO BY K AT H L EEN WEL L S

By Cody Bromley/ Staff Writer the title of the hit 2007 film about teen pregnancy, the The next site that wants to new social networking site change the world has a funny Jumo is all about supportname. ing non-profit organizations, Though it looks like “Juno,” including ones that work to combat teenage pregnancy.

Social networks are known for their abstract names and WEATHER spellings, but Jumo is not just another name to throw on the TODAY H 52° L 29° pile. The word Jumo comes from the language of Yoruba, a language with 20 million speakers in the Niger-Congo area of Africa, and means “together in concert.” The new site is a way for non-profit organizations to connect with supporters, not just for people to connect with their TOMORROW H 56° L 36° friends.

Chris Hughes, one of the founders of Facebook and the chief digital organizer for President Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, unveiled his new site last Tuesday. The 27-year-old founder and executive direcMore weather at www.uco360.com tor of Jumo created the site to help people find ways to help the world.

In March of this year, Hughes told Fast Company DID YOU magazine that the site matchKNOW? es people based on their skills and interests with organizaThe Zip Code 12345 tions that need their input. is assigned to Gen“It’s a discovery process eral Electric in Schethat first matches, then helps nectady, New York. people build relationships, then let’s people share their resources,” Hughes said in

the interview.

Jumo visitors need an account to browse the site’s database, but to create an account with Jumo, users also need an account with Facebook. After jumping through all the necessary hoops, users select the things they care about the most.

Those categories include arts and culture, education, environment and animals, health, human rights, peace and governance and poverty.

Users rate them in terms of interest, and then are shown organizations from each selected category that they can follow.

There are many big name organizations already in the system, too. If a user says they are interested in environmental organizations, Jumo will recommend the Sierra Club.

If a user says they are interested in educational organizations, Jumo will recommend Teach For America. Both groups already have pages on Facebook and, for now at least, not much separates what is on Jumo and what is on Facebook.

The Sierra Club posts more updates on their Facebook page, but only some of those posts make it to the “top news” listing of Jumo page.

Also on the Jumo page, users can post comments about an

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Some drivers do not realize that pedestrians get the right of way. Some students have had close calls with cars while crossing the street on their way to school.

By Brittany Dalton / Staff Writer Students on their way to class may have more to worry about than getting to class on time. Sometimes these students have to worry about their safety.

“I once came about an inch away from being struck by a car,” Travis Witthuhn, a senior English education major, said.

Even when drivers are concerned with making it to their next class or to work on time, pedestrians often have the right of way.

According to Oklahoma state law, pedestrians have the right of way when walking within marked crosswalks. The drivers must yield to the pedestrian, by coming to a stop and allowing the pedestrian to cross.

“I think it’s definitely a problem of drivers not yielding that right of way,” Witthuhn said.

However, there is another section of Oklahoma law that further specifies right of way.

The pedestrian must be within the marked crosswalk to legally have the right of way.

According to that section, “every pedestrian crossing a roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection shall yield the right of way to all vehicles upon the roadway.”

At intersections where traffic signals are in use, the pedestrian is only supposed to cross within the marked crosswalk.

In those situations, the student is the one that must yield right of way to the drivers.

What this means is that students must be defensive pedestrians in much the same way that new drivers are urged to be “defensive drivers.”

“People are impatient,” Witthuhn said.

“They try to zoom past the pedestrians so they don’t have to slow down.”

Not all students are unaware of the law, and the issue may not be that students do not care, either.

“Even though I know that pedestrians always have the right of way, I always get confused because pedestrians are so rare in the city,” Katie Goff, a junior majoring in political science, said.

Goff likens it to two students meeting in a hallway, and both deciding to move in the same direction.

“I think the pedestrian is afraid the car isn’t going to stop so he/she hesitates and then the car hesitates, and ultimately someone has to go, so they go at the same time,” she said.

The Vista 100 North University Drive Edmond, OK 73034 (405)974-5549 editorial@uco360.com

The Vista is published as a newspaper and public forum by UCO students, semi-weekly during the academic year except exam and holiday periods, and only on Wednesdays during the summer, at the University of Central Oklahoma. The issue price is free for the first copy and $1 for each additional copy obtained.

EDITORIALS Opinion columns, editorial cartoons, reviews and commentaries represent the views of the writer or artist and not necessarily the views of The Vista Editorial Board, the Department of Mass Communication, UCO or the Board of Regents of Oklahoma Colleges. The Vista is not an official medium of expression for the Regents or UCO.

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Opinion

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DEC. 7, 2010

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campus Quotes

How do you feel about wikileaks.org leaking information about the U.S.?

Derek fowler

Mebel Chukwa

Kathryn Clark

Junior - Chemistry

Senior - Community Health

Sophomore - Nursing

LETTERS The Vista encourages letters to the editor. Letters should address issues and ideas, not personalities. Letters must be typed, double-spaced, with a maximum of 150 words, and must include the author’s printed name, title, major, classification and phone number. Letters are subject to editing for libel, clarity and space, or to eliminate statements of questionable taste. The Vista reserves the right not to publish submitted letters.

Address letters to: Editor, The Vista, 100 N. University Dr., Edmond, OK 730345209, or deliver in person to the editor in the Communications Building, Room 131. Letters can be e-mailed to vistauco@gmail.com.

STAFF

Management

Editorial

Kory Oswald, Editor-In-Chief Samantha Maloy, Copy Editor Chris Wescott, Sports Editor Jenefar De Leon, Managing Editor Garett Fisbeck, Photo Editor

Ryan Costello, Senior Staff Writer Cody Bromley, Staff Writer A.J. Black, Staff Writer Chantal Robbateux, Staff Writer Michael Collins, Staff Writer Brittany Dalton, Staff Writer Christie Rawlins, Staff Writer

Graphic Design Steven Hyde

Advertising Brittany Koster DeOren Robinson

“The opinion I have is that government needs to have more control over their information, I think it’s detrimental.”

“I think there should be better control about information, because most people do not say the truth, especially when it is not direct from the source. ”

“I think that while some things in the government should be classified, we have the right to know what the governement is doing.”

Taf Dandajena

Kevin tran

Samantha meisinger

Junior - Pre Pharmacy

Senior - Graphic Design

Junior - Chemist Forensic Science

Photography Kathleen Wells Joseph Moore

Editorial Comic Circulation

Prakriti Adhikari

Jack Chancey

Adviser Mr. Teddy Burch

Administrative Assistant Tresa Berlemann

Editorial

wealthy elephants

By Ryan Costello / Senior Staff Writer What tax bracket does God fall in?

Does the big guy’s heaven full of riches amount to enough equity to be in America’s exclusive top two percent?

He must, or rather he’d better pray he does, lest he be subject to Republicans’ shunning of the U.S.’s fast-eroding middle class.

Worse yet, for the ‘faith and family’ driven GOP, what if his holiness is, he forbid, not rich?

To wit: The past week in politics may finally have shown the some 20 American citizens who are still paying attention the true color of the Republican Party: green.

The senate’s traditionally hyper-productive lame duck session’s docket featured rulings on a host of proposed legislation.

Among them were the New START treaty (A crucial nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia), and the abolishment of the military’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy.

Then came a letter, signed by all 42 Republican Senate members, that vowed to hold hostage any and all legislation that would come before them until Democrats would negotiate (read: relent) to extend Bush era tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans.

Their list of demands was that the two parties discuss a common resolution for an American tax code that is set to expire and reset to 2001 levels. At a rare weekend session before this week, the two parties did just that, and Democrats proposed an already discussed policy that would keep tax cuts for Americans making less than $250,000 a year for families or individuals that annually gross $200,000, with returns to the previous tax codes for Americans making more.

But it wasn’t enough.

Republicans dismissed the hearing as political theatre and refused to unblock any future rulings until the richest Americans received what amounts to roughly $700 billion in tax cuts.

The GOP’s latest dictatorial maneuver is perhaps the most ironic to this point.

Republicans crow about deficit reduction, but are willing to throw away the potential for hundreds of billions in relief.

They whine about political theatre, while also funding and inciting the hyperbolic drama at Tea Party rallies. They talk about government being too powerful, but are willing to break rank to protect the rich with the extension of federal tax relief for the sake of billionaires’ coffers.

And these people might run the country soon.

God, and all of his children in the lower 98 percent, had best tighten our belts.

“Well, the information in the first place shouldn’t be leaked at all. Any other government could use that against us.”

“I think it’s kind of shady.

People don’t seem to be too thrilled about it...The government does hide a lot, but once we know the truth, we may not be able to handle it.”

“I don’t think that people should leak information about the U.S., that could hinder our protection here.”

By Pakriti Adhikari / Cartoonist

NEWS

DEC. 7, 2010

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Religion

POPE ALTERS COURSE: CONDOMS OK

People look at an activist holding a balloon made out of a condom during an AIDS awareness rally on World AIDS Day, in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

By Josh Hutton / Staff Writer After the flood of media attention, most would feel the pope just released a book

about condoms. A new book, “Light of the World,” (to be released mid-2011), covers a wide range of issues brought to the surface by seasoned journalist Peter Seewald. In the book, Seewald questions everything from the clergy’s sexual abuse scandals to views on the Islamic faith.

The questions are straightforward and weighty, but Pope Benedict XVI answers them with equivocal clarity. The media storm then comes from a statement by the pope over a year ago to African bishops. The pope said that condoms were the ineffective course of action for fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and that sexual abstinence was the key to beating back the infections. In the new book, the pope has changed that view.

When asked about condom use, the pope answered, “There may be a basis in the case of some individuals, as perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility, on the way toward recovering an awareness that not everything is allowed and that one cannot do whatever one wants. But it is not really the way to deal with the evil of HIV infection. That can really lie only in a humanization of sexuality.”

In the book, the pope also attempted to clarify his original statement.

“I was not making a general statement about the condom issue, but merely said, and this is what caused such great offense, that we cannot solve the problem by distributing condoms,” the pope said.

International Student Life

CHINESE STUDENTS FIND OPPORTUNITY AT UCO

By Christie Southern / Staff Writer Over the past year, Chinese student enrollment in the United States has increased, making China now the leading country with the most international students enrolled in the United States, according to the Open Doors 2010 report, produced by the Institute of International Education.

India, however, remained the country with the most students in Oklahoma for 20092010. The top five leading countries of origin for foreign students in Oklahoma are India, China, South Korea, Nepal and Saudi Arabia.

The University of Central Oklahoma currently has 194 Chinese students enrolled.

“We’ve had students from other Asian countries, but this is biggest increase in Chinese students we’ve seen,” Jay Shacklett, international student adviser said. The rise in enrollment has been prevalent with exchange students, that is, students that only attend UCO for a semester.

China’s growing economy, as well as its high population, is one significant reason for the increase in enrollment, Shacklett said.

“Because of the rising rates of higher education, new generations of students are seeking higher education elsewhere. It’s a very competitive environment [in China], so many students choose to come to the United States.”

Students like Yumeng Chen came to Oklahoma in order to learn the culture and live independently.

“The most important reason [for me coming to the U.S.] is that my family wants me to

learn how to study, work and live individually,” Chen, secretary of the Chinese Student Association, said. “In addition, studying overseas allows me to experience different cultures and improve my English. The last reason is the competitive environment here is fairer compared to China.”

The Chinese Student Association is organized by Chinese students through the international student office. Every year, they participate in different events such as the International Festival, International Food Festival, the July 4th Parade and UCO’s World Cup Soccer.

Chen said he also chose UCO because of the affordable cost of living.

“Oklahoma is really a good place for studying,” Chen said. “People here are nice and living expenses are acceptable.”

“UCO’s cost itself is relatively low, it’s a good value public education …a lot less than New York or California,” Shacklett said.

However, cost is not the only factor influencing students’ decision, safety is as well.

“Edmond is one of the safest areas in the country,” Shacklett said. “There’s also something unique about being here. It’s middle America, the heartland of the United States and many students like that.”

Shacklett believes that Chinese student enrollment will continue to grow over the next couple of years.

“We’d love to see double, triple numbers,” Shacklett said.

Continued from page 1

JUMO organization, and have their comments Since Hughes’s Jumo does not compete with show up on Facebook.

Facebook, but rather seeks to The integration of Facebook extend its platform, potential and Jumo goes to Hughes, who investors are not writing it To view Juno’s as one of the original founders off just yet. Hughes told Fast homepage, use of Facebook, laid the foundaCompany that he and his team your smartphone to tions for what became the site’s have raised about $2.5 million, scan this tag: communications and product and will eventually ask users management teams. from donations. As a new nonHughes was a roommate profit organization themselves, at Harvard with Facebook the amount of money is subfounder Mark Zuckerburg, stantial. and in the recent film about “We’re not in this to make the founding of Facebook, money,” Hughes told the mag“The Social Network,” a porazine, “we’re in this to make trayal of Hughes is there. Wearing a blue Har- sure that no individual can ever say ‘I want to vard hooded sweatshirt, the actor Patrick Ma- help but I don’t know how.’” pel portrayed Hughes as he peered over the shoulders of Zuckerburg.

The World Health Organization (WHO) was quick to take the pope’s words as approval. WHO’s Regional Director of the Western Pacific, Dr. Shin Young-soo, was hopeful the pope’s answer would soften resistance from the region’s Catholics on safer sex practices.

Shin claimed that 1.4 million people in the region have AIDS, and estimates that 150,000 new cases of HIV arise yearly. His growing concerns seem to justify condom use, but Benedict did not say that condom use might be justified.

“Are you saying, then, that the Catholic Church is actually not opposed in principle to the use of condoms?” Seewald asked in clarification.

Benedict XVI responded, “She, of course, does not regard it as a real or moral solution. But, in this or that case, there can be nonetheless, in the intention of reduci n g the risk of infection, a first step in a movement toward a different way, a more human way, of living sexuality.”

The pope says explicitly that condoms are not “a real or moral solution.”

The over-hype has only led to greater turmoil over the old argument, leaving many

Catholics confused as to what the pope truly meant.

Most orthodox Catholics feel only a more formal papal pronouncement would change their stance on the issue. Other Catholic moral theologians have already tacked the pope’s words as a victory, seeing the Pope’s words as confirmation that condoms should be used to prevent the spread of disease.

However, contrary to some media accounts, Benedict did not take the pro-condom side of the debate. He commended only the condom user’s possible good intentions. Good intentions that he hoped would lead to a different

lifestyle.

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NEWS

DEC. 7, 2010

REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR

Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2010, will mark the 69th anniversary of the attack that launched the United States into World War II. The Japanese Navy struck the United States naval base Pearl Harbor in Hawaii early that December morning. Here are some facts about the 1941 attack that changed U.S. history.

The battleship USS California is afire and listing to port in the Japanese aerial attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941. Durrell Conner, who coded and decoded messages for the Navy, was aboard the USS California when it sank in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Conner will return with 17 family members to remember those who died in the Japanese attack 69 years ago during the Pearl Harbor Anniversary.

This Dec. 7, 1941, file photo provided by the Dept. of Defense shows the USS California, right, after being struck by two battleships and two big bombs during a Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. Durrell Conner, who coded and decoded messages for the Navy, was aboard the USS California when it sank in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Conner will return with 17 family members to remember those who died in the Japanese attack 69 years ago during the Pearl Harbor Anniversary. (AP Photo/DOD)

The attack happened on a Sunday morning; many of the soldiers were sleeping and were caught off guazrd. There were very few soldiers ready to fight, making the damage and devastation quite severe.

A U.S. Army private who noticed the large flight of planes on his radar screen was told to ignore them because a flight of B-17s from the continental U.S. was expected at the time.

There were two waves of planes that attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor.

The first arrived at 7:55 a.m. and consisted of 183 planes. The second wave arrived almost an hour later with 167 planes.

In all, the Japanese sank or damaged 188 aircraft, eight U.S. Navy battleships, three destroyers, three cruisers and one minelayer.

The damage the Japanese navy suffered was very small; only 29 out of 350 aircrafts were destroyed.

Of the 2,403 people killed, 68 of those were civilians and a total of 1,178 people were wounded.

The Japanese Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku planned the attack, but the Japanese attack force was under the command of Admiral Nagumo.

The four U.S. Navy battleships that were destroyed were the USS Arizona, the USS Nevada, the USS Oklahoma and the USS West Virginia. The USS Arizona and Oklahoma were the only ones not restored and returned to service.

The four U.S. Navy battleships that were destroyed were the USS Arizona, the USS Nevada, the USS Oklahoma and the USS West Virginia. The USS Arizona and Oklahoma were the only ones not restored and returned to service.

PHOTO BY ADAM K. THOMAS

By Christie Southern / Staff Writer

The attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan was supposed to be a preventive attack used to scare the United States from interfering with Japan’s plan to wage war against Britain, the Netherlands. Although this was a very good strategic victory for the Japanese, they used huge amounts of resources for this one attack.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt was the head of state at the time. “December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy,” Roosevelt In this photo released by U.S. Navy, its aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN said in reference to the attack.

73) Command Master Chief Marty King, third right, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force On Dec. 8, 1941, Congress declared war on Japan with only one vote against it. The vote against it was of Rep. Jeannette Rankin of Montana, who had also voted against U.S. entry into World War I.

(JMSDF) Force Master Chief Koji Himori, second right, and Escort Flotilla Command Master Chief Naosuke Tanaka observe operations as JMSDF Escort Flotilla ship Ikazuchi (DD-107) steams into position along side the carrier during “Keen Sword” U.S.Japan joint military exercise in the Pacific Ocean Sunday, Dec. 5, 2010. In an ongoing show of force following a deadly North Korean attack on a front-line island, the U.S. and Japan continued one of their biggest-ever military exercises Monday, Dec. 6, 2010, mobilizing more than 44,000 troops, hundreds of aircraft and the U.S. supercarrier.

Continued from page 1 PHOTO BY GARETT FISBECK

PROTESTS

PHOTO BY GARETT FISBECK

Ruby Cazares and Dillon Bittner, students of UCO, stand to protest the Westboro Baptist Church at Harvest Church on Sunday, Dec. 5.

Barrett Scoggins, a 17-year-old Norman North High student, stands to the right of Benaiah Phelps to counter protest the Westboro Baptist Church’s message of hate.

PHOTO BY GARETT FISBECK

Bittner spoke his thoughts of whether or not the WBC was doing the demonstration purely for attention.

“I think originally it wasn’t for attention, but ever since they got that attention, they went with it,” he said.

Local ministers openly denounced the practices of the WBC. “It is absolutely ridiculous for a church to claim that they are a part of the body of Christ and picket another church,” Gibraltar Moore, pastor of Standing on the Rock Ministries and an attendee of the Harvest Church service, said.

“They should have come to talk to this ministry in private like Christians do.”

Moore says that God hates sins and not sinners.

“That’s what we want in the church, so we can show them a better way,” Moore said.

“You’re supposed to show compassion and love. If you want Sara Phelps leads a group of Westboro protesters in the someone to change, you don’t beat them over they head, you singing of hymns and religious parodies. show them love.”

NEWS

DEC. 7, 2010 Community

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Opinion

OPINION COMMUNITY CHORALE TO CAROL LACED P H OTO BY K AT H L EEN WEL L S

By Emily Davis / Contributing Writer Many things come to mind when thinking about the holiday season.

Things like Santa, Christmas trees, presents, food, favorite holiday movies, cookies and of course, Christmas carols.

This holiday season, UCO and the Edmond Community Chorale brings a holiday concert to the Edmond community to help spread Christmas cheer.

On Dec.2, UCO choirs, the UCO Concert Chorale and UCO’s Cantilena Women’s Choir will partner with the Edmond Community Chorale to perform Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio.” Karl Nelson, Central’s director of choral studies and conductor of both the Concert Chorale and the Edmond Community Chorale chose the selection to be performed.

“I wanted to do something that contrasted from what we did last year. Last year we did a 20th century composition, ‘The Prairie’ by Lukas Foss, and the year before that we had done ‘The Creation’

by Joseph Haydn,” Nelson said Nelson said that this year’s piece is from the 18th century Baroque period.

The other two from previous years have been from the classical period and from the 20th century.

“It’s an opportunity for the students to learn Baroque style, and to perform a major work in that style, plus Bach’s music is extremely challenging, and I wanted to make sure that the students could challenge themselves…and work on different vocal techniques to meet the needs of Baroque music,” Nelson said.

Nelson said that while 12 students are in the Edmond Community Chorale, many are just people who love to sing.

This event that takes place each year is a learning experience for all who participate.

“They learn from each other. I know that the Edmond Community Chorale loves to work with these students, because of how precise they are, their tone, their refinement of the music, and they

WITH BY

A.J. BLACK

Caleb Glennie, right, and Vahn Phollurxa, on Glennie’s left, rehearse last Friday in preparation for the caroling concert.

always find it to be a good boost for the performance,” Nelson said. For the students, it is good for them to see how older professionals will work.”

Nelson also points out how great the mesh works with all the voices.

“It creates a very nice balance within the ensemble. Vocally, the older adults usually have a richer tone, which adds for a nice balance with the accuracy of the students, he said.

It is not just voices that audience members will be hearing that night, but also an orchestra will be accompanying the choir as well. Included in the orchestra are some high school students as well as college and professional musicians.

“We have for the strings college sections leaders, also we have high school students from the Oklahoma Youth Orchestra that will be performing the strings, and then for the winds it’s primarily professionals and professors,” Nelson said.

Nelson likes that students get to perform with professionals and see how they and other students work.

Also singing will be faculty member soloists, which include, Mark T. Lundholm, Barbara Streets, Roxane LaCombe,

Kevin Eckard and Nicholas Saverine.

Nelson has high hopes for the concert and encourages residents from the Edmond community to attend.

“I’d love to enhance the holiday season. I’d love to see the people of the community really come together to enjoy a great masterwork of music,” Nelson said. Nelson has always had a love for music since a small child when he would sing in school and church choirs.

When he started college, he majored in business aviation and soon realized that it “wasn’t where he was called to be.”

Nelson’s love for music is apparent in the way he explains music.

“You don’t get to know the piece just through one hearing; like anything, the more you study it, the more you gain an appreciation for it,” Nelson said. “It’s like an onion where you just pull back layers and layer and there’s always more, and it seems like the more layers you peel back the more interesting it is, and the more you want to learn about it.”

The concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 11 at First Christian Church located at 201 East 2nd St. in Edmond. Admission is free, and donations are welcome.

Education

BOOK DRIVE FOR “BETTER WORLD” P H OTO BY K AT H L EEN WEL L S

A book drive by Sigma Tau Delta is seeking books for donation to be distributed both locally and globally.

By Chris Wescott / Sports Editor

Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Society, is hosting a book drive on UCO’s campus that will last until Dec. 31. This year’s book drive, in collaboration with Better World Books, will benefit the non-profit organization, Invisible Children.

Donated books will be sorted by Sigma Tau Delta and books able to be donated locally, such as children’s books will be distributed throughout the area.

Books that cannot be donated locally are shipped to Better World Books.

According to Sigma Tau Delta book drive coordinator, Lauren Brandeberry, Better World Books keeps a list of book titles specifically requested by literacy and education programs in North and South America, Africa, Asia, the South Pacific and Haiti. If any of those titles are in the donated books, they will be sent to the requesting program.

Books that were not donated locally or to literacy and education programs, are sold online through the Better World Books store. Ten percent of all proceeds from these sold books will be donated to one of their non-profit partners.

Brandeberry said that for campus drives, like the one at UCO, the chapter

FACT

running the drive picks which partner they would like the donations to go to.

Sigma Tau Delta chose Invisible Children.

UCO students are encouraged to donate used books by placing them in the Better World Books collection bins located around campus and in the metro area. Bins are located in the UCO Business Building lobby, the Liberal Arts Building, Howell Hall, the Education Building, the Max Chambers Library circulation desk, West Hall, the University Suites and at the Oklahoma Food Cooperative in Downtown Oklahoma City.

“More locations are coming soon, including the Nigh University Center,” Brandeberry said. “There will be collection boxes outside of Barnes & Noble (UCO Bookstore) during finals week, as well as an informational table where people can learn more about Sigma Tau Delta, Better World Books and the drive itself.”

Brandeberry said that they accept any book in any condition through Dec. 31.

She also said this is not the first time a drive like this has been held on campus, but it is the biggest effort to date.

“I am afraid I don’t have the numbers from our past drives, but I do know that this semester’s effort is the biggest push

we have ever done.”

Brandeberry said that Better World Books is no stranger to these donations either.

“I can also tell you that Better World Books as a whole as partnered with student groups on over 1,800 college campuses worldwide,” she said. “So far, they have raised over $8.8 million for global literacy, have kept more than 37 million tons of books out of landfills and have donated more than $1.8 million to campus organizations.”

The book drive is Sigma Tau Delta’s national service project. Brandeberry said there is some extra motivation for Sigma Tau Delta to participate in the book drive.

“There are some additional perks,” Brandeberry said. “The chapters that collect the most books are eligible to win prizes such as T-shirts, free books and $100 to be donated to the charity of their choice. The person who coordinates the most successful drive each semester wins an all-expenses paid trip to experience the work being done on the ground by one or more of the (Better World Books) non-profit literacy partners.”

Brandeberry said the coordinator who won last semester spent 10 days in Africa working with Invisible Children and Books for Africa.

Every Sigma Tau Delta member who participates in a book drive is eligible to apply for a summer internship at Better World Books. Every chapter that participates gets an environmental impact summary detailing how many tons of books were collected, what percent were re-used, donated or sold and what percentage were recycled. The summary also includes the environmental impact of the individual drives, such as how many gallons of water and cubic feet of landfill space were saved.

For more information on the book drive or to schedule a book pick-up, contact Lauren Brandeberry at lauren@ cube23.com.

Don’t worry it’s almost over. A couple more classes, a test or two, and then we can all tell the professor where to put their flash drive for the rest of the year. I love the holidays.

It gives normally rotten people an excuse to be nice to each other. To think that we need a day set aside dedicated to the family, food, friends and the sharing of gifts.

My family tree has become so complex as of late that I can’t be sure who is related to whom and how. One thing that helps ease the awkward tension of a room full of strangers that may or may not be related to you is to have a couple of drinks. One of my favorite pastimes is to get a little tipsy and then make the rounds. I start with the older ladies. They are easy to talk to because you don’t have to say much. Saying hello or introducing yourself is usually enough to get them going for fifteen minutes strong. They may also introduce you to a few others, or maybe one of their daughters.

A fun thing to do is to have several different responses for the question of “So, what do you do?” The proverbial question if they are asking you this is they either are a guest

There are three hundred and sixty four other days a year that we can be absorbed with our jobs, routine and responsibilities. of someone, recently married into the family, suffering from Alzheimer’s, or drunker than you. So it is safe to play with them a little. I like to pause, get real serious, and then ask them what they mean by that. Then I just laugh and tell them I am a seeker of truth and justice who looks to nature for universals and translates them into English through poetry and prose. Word.

After properly meeting or re-meeting everyone, a few cocktails, and plenty of toothpicks jammed into your shirt pocket from all of the cheese you ate off of the horsd’oeuvres tray, it is time to stand in line and hope that there is still room left at the adult table when you are done loading up your plate. If you do happen to get stuck eating with the kids, you can always talk them into doing something they shouldn’t. Kids are easy to manipulate and usually don’t know the value of the information they have on their parents. If you get them all hyped up on eggnog, they may prove to be a strong ally when it comes time to make an early exit or to help create a diversion so you can hit on your pretty cousin who isn’t blood related, the one that the strange lady with lipstick stuck to her teeth introduced you to earlier.

As you get older, your role in the extended family changes. Instead of everyone patting you on the head and buying you gifts, some people actually expect you to get them stuff and their kids too. How about a gift card? There is no better way to tell someone how happy you are to get to see them once a year, but you don’t have a clue what to get them; so, enjoy your ten dollars at Starbucks. Personally, I prefer the more creative kind of gifts, the kind that takes a little thought and no money. So here is your hand-made bookmark. You can use it to fan yourself while you read your Kindle.

All kidding aside, the holidays should be about getting reacquainted with your family. There are three hundred and sixty four other days a year that we can be absorbed with our jobs, routine and responsibilities. So here is to the new nuclear family and to the death of the redneck joke about finding an eligible suitor at a family function.

-Light it up, A.J. Black

6

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Across

Down

1. “Back in the ___” 5. Master 10. Hardly haute cuisine 14. Fill 15. Pueblo Indian underground chambers 16. Gift on “The Bachelor” 17. Board member, for short 18. Set in stone 20. Conduct 22. “Soap” spinoff 23. Bathtub liquid?

24. Make sense, with “up” 25. Enclosure for ship repair 30. Current location?

34. Stalk 35. Pink, as a steak 37. Birchbark 38. .0000001 joule 39. Scandinavian dry spirit 41. Blonde’s secret, maybe 42. Gloomy, in poetry 44. Give off, as light 45. Ticket info, maybe 46. Panpipe 48. Losers 50. Backboard attachment 51. Pickpocket, in slang 52. Ancient Greek state 55. Cheap ship accommodations 60. Type of teeth 62. Fencing sword 63. H.S. class 64. Overhangs 65. Breakfast, lunch or dinner 66. Absorbs, with “up” 67. Flat 68. Blows it

1. Brought into play 2. Old German duchy name 3. Tropical Asian plant 4. Proof of purchase 5. Scrape, as the knee 6. Big tippler 7. Affirm 8. Nth degree 9. Map line 10. Old-timer 11. Arcing shots 12. Christiania, now 13. Hammer part 19. Blue-pencil 21. “___ calls?”

25. Outbuildings 26. “Faster!”

27. “Raiders of the Lost ___” 28. **** review 29. Excitement 31. Fine, thin, opaque paper 32. Senior member 33. Clairvoyants 36. “... there is no ___ angel but Love”: Shakespeare 39. Composite plant 40. “___ alive!”

43. Broadcasting 45. Ancient galley 47. Short holidays?

49. “___ to Billie Joe” 52. “Hamlet” has five 53. Hawaiian tuber 54. Excursion 55. Part of the Hindu trinity 56. Old Chinese money 57. “... or ___!”

58. Reverse, e.g.

59. Congers 61. Cal. col.

SUDOKU

Puzzle 1 (Medium, difficulty rating 0.56)

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Generated by http://www.opensky.ca/~jdhildeb/software/sudokugen/ on Tue Jun 8 19:55:13 2010 GMT. Enjoy!

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SPORTS

DEC. 7, 2010 UCO Basketball

PHOTO BY GARETT FISBECK

BRONCHOS BACK ON TRACK

The UCO Wrestling team hosts Oklahoma City University Thursday.

WRESTLING FROM PAGE 8 After competing in the dual on Thursday, the Bronchos traveled to Hays, Kan., to compete in the Fort Hays State Open.

Cody Dauphin continued his momentum from his win Thursday by clinching a runner-up finish in his first collegiate tournament. The Bronchos also had three wrestlers come in with third place finishes. Casey Rowell finished placed third at 141 pounds, Derrick Adkins at 165 pounds and Jarrett Edison at 197 pounds.

“I think we had a really good tournament in Kansas over the weekend,” James said. “We had a lot of guys get some experience and hopefully as the year goes along we can pick up on some of the close losses we’ve been accumulating.”

The Bronchos have extended their dual record to 1-1 with a loss on the

7

road to the University of Oklahoma and a win at home against Colorado StatePueblo. They also extended their placecount to 18 over four tournaments.

“We’ve had a couple of weeks of traveling and it’s been tough,” James said.

“Hopefully we can have some success in these next few tournaments so our boys can get a well deserved break over the holidays.”

The Bronchos will compete in their third duel of the year against Oklahoma City University Thursday night at 7.

They will travel to Wichita, Kan., after the duel to compete in the Newman Invitational over the weekend. After returning from Christmas break, they will compete in the Division II Nationals before hosting Fort Hays State University for their fourth duel of the season on Jan. 13.

Coming off their first loss of the season against a pesky Incarnate Word team last Thursday, the UCO men’s basketball team got back to winning against Texas A&M Commerce with a 79-66 win this past Saturday.

After the tough loss to Incarnate Word where the Bronchos missed four free throws in the final 30 seconds, it was nice to see that that Bronchos did not carry that bad feeling into the next game.

When asked what he thought about the win, Coach Terry Evans had this to say, “I thought we did a good job of not letting Thursday’s loss affect us, we needed to bounce back strong and we picked up a good road win.”

In Saturday’s win, the Bronchos had four players reach double digits in points and were led by their All-American hopeful Dauntae Williams who had another outstanding game. He finished the game with 24 points on 8-12 shooting; he also added five rebounds, four assists and three steals.

The other Broncho players that reached double figures were Tyler Phillips with 15, Shane Carroll with 13, and June Carter who came off the bench to add 15 points on just 7-10 shooting.

After shooting terrible in the previous game, the Bronchos responded in the win by shooting 62 percent from the field and 43 percent from three-point

range. The 62 percent just happened to be a season high for Bronchos.

For Texas A&M Commerce, the Broncho defense proved to be too much, as they were held in check all game. They finished the game shooting only 39 percent from the field, and were outscored in the paint 40-16 by the Bronchos.

Next up for UCO will be Angelo State, who is winless so far on the season. But before Angelo State takes on UCO they will also face St. Mary’s.

Worst case, the Bronchos will be facing a one-win team, best case UCO will be looking to drop Angelo State to a lonely 0-5.

There is one player the Bronchos will have to keep in check when they face the Rams, and that is LaMarshall Corbett. The senior guard is averaging 25 points a game so far this season, and is chipping in five rebounds a game as well.

Also watch out for Ridge McKeither who is averaging 18 points per game and Richard Thomas who is averaging 12 points per game. Although the Rams look on paper to be completely outmatched, in their last contest they played Texas A&M Commerce close and only lost 102-98. They will have the capability to score, but don’t look for the Bronchos to slow down anytime soon.

PHOTO BY PHOTO SERVICES

Broncho junior guard Brent Friday takes the ball down the court on Nov. 26, 2010.

8

SPORTS

DEC. 7, 2010

READY, SET, FIGHT! The No. 19 Bronchos and No. 9 Sooners’ rivalry reached a boiling point this weekend with fights and a shootout.

PHOTO BY GARETT FISBECK

UCO freshman Derek Mussey (3) fights with an Oklahoma player during Friday night’s game between the University of Central Oklahoma and the University of Oklahoma.

By Chris Wescott / Sports Editor

with 6:03 left on the clock. He was assisted by captain Nick Novak.

The Bronchos continued their early game dominance by scoring 3:34 into the second period. Patrick Biron netted a power play goal. Biron was assisted by Block and Patrick Higgins.

Then the Sooners began to fight back. OU scored three goals to close out the second frame, and tie the game at three.

In the third period, Edmond native Josh Harris delivered what UCO fans thought might be the final goal of the game and the dagger in the side of Sooner nation. 2:56 into the final period Harris put in an unassisted

goal giving UCO the 4-3 lead.

With just 3:50 left in the game OU forward Jesse Bryant scored on the power play and silenced a rowdy group of Broncho fans. The game advanced to overtime, but the extra period went scoreless and the contest moved to a shootout.

The shootout took six rounds to complete and the Sooners escaped with a 5-4 shootout win.

The No. 19 Bronchos do not return to action until 2011. They resume on Jan. 7, when they head to Indiana University. UCO’s next home game is Jan. 13, against No. 5 Arizona State.

PHOTO BY GARETT FISBECK

If one thing was proven following this weekend’s Bedlam hockey series between the No. 19 University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos and the No. 9 University of Oklahoma Sooners, it was that this rivalry is just heating up. Six disqualifications took place during Friday night’s 6-2 UCO loss to OU. The fans at Arctic Edge Arena in Edmond were treated to a plethora of fights, and some not so advised unsportsmanlike moments. On Saturday afternoon at Blazer’s Ice Centre in Oklahoma City, the Bronchos got so close to knocking off the Sooners, taking OU to a shootout. But UCO lost a heartbreaker, 5-4.

OU opened up scoring on Friday night when Justin King scored on the power play, assisted by Blake Martin with 6:55 remaining in the first period. UCO senior Jonathan Cannizzo scored shorthanded to answer OU and tie the game at 1-1. He was assisted by defenseman Hayden Scolaro. The score came just 22 seconds after OU’s first goal and came short-handed.

With 3:42 left in the opening period UCO, took their first lead of the night when freshman Donald Geary took the puck down the ice and fired it past OU goaltender, Matt Pombo. Fellow freshman Anthony Knuth was credited with the assist.

The final minutes of the first period saw several scrums in which multiple players were ejected. A resounding 21 penalties were called in the first frame.

The Sooners then went on a tear. The No. 9 team in the nation scored four straight goals in the second period, and held UCO scoreless. OU scored once more in the third to close out the game with a 6-2 rout.

With 8:29 left in the game and the win securely in hand, OU’s King put the final nail in the coffin that was one ugly game. UCO defenseman Casey Lehmann skated toward the right circle of the UCO defense zone after the whistle had signaled a stoppage in play.

King skated over and using both hands, lifted

his stick and swung with significant force, at Lehmann’s knee. Both players were ejected from the game. Lehmann received a 10-minute misconduct and King was disqualified.

That moment summed up the first game perfectly: rough.

On Saturday afternoon, UCO gave OU all they could handle on the road but would fall just short of the upset.

The Bronchos seemed to find new life, opening up the scoring 8:42 into the game.

Freshman Peter Ekholm scored on the power play to begin, what seemed like a nice UCO run.

Senior Brent Block scored again in the first

Patrick Biron (25) fights to get to the puck during Central Oklahoma’s 6-2 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners on Friday night. No. 19 UCO was swept by the Sooners this past weekend, losing on Saturday 5-4 in a shootout. The Bronchos don’t play again until Jan.

UCO WRESTLING

By Trey Hunter / Contributing Writer

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The University of Central Oklahoma wrestling team won their duel against the University of Colorado-Pueblo 23-3 on Thursday, Dec. 2 and placed four wrestlers at the Fort Hays State Open in Fort Hays, Kan., on Saturday, Dec. 4.

Freshman Cody Dauphin from El Reno, Okla., clinched the win by upsetting No. 7 ranked Patrick Carey in the final match of the night against Colorado State-Pueblo. His win capped off a three-match winning streak that had sophomore Tanner Keck winning at 184 pounds and junior Jarrett Edison winning at 197 pounds.

The Bronchos won six of the ten matches the entire night.

They also got wins from a sophomore trio of Trison Graham, Ky Corley and Austin Standage.

“I’m really proud of our guys for the way they competed against Colorado-Pueblo,” head coach David James said. “They pulled some upsets and thanks to the bonus points we got a victory.”

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